27/12/2015 BBC Weekend News

Large parts of northern England inundated by flooding. The

government deploys 500 more troops to help. In York, the River Foss

broke its banks leaving thousands at risk. Emergency teams attempting to

help hundreds of people to safety. Many people tried to protect their

homes but in vain. We started putting the sandbags up and the

boards, but the water came so quick. Before we could even get everything

upstairs the water just came in. The clean-up begins in Whalley after

yesterday's flooding but there are warnings of yet more rain to come.

We will be live with our correspondent in some of the worst

affected areas and we will bring you a round-up of all of today's news.

Stuart Broad gives England the edge in Durban on day 2 of the first test

Large areas of northern England remain underwater after what has

been described as unprecedented flooding, inundating homes and

forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. David Cameron has pledged

to do whatever is needed to help those affected.

The Government has brought in 500 extra troops to help people

and to evacuate homes, with a thousand more on standby.

Across North West England there are nearly 6,500

There are over 230 alerts and warnings across

24 of them are severe - those are shown all in red -

We'll be reporting from some of the worst affected areas

First tonight - Judith Moritz reports from York.

After Cumbria and Lancashire, now it is the turn of Yorkshire. Another

day, another county in the grip of the floods. The people of York new

their city was vulnerable but nobody expected it on this scale. The

warnings came yesterday, the call to evacuate was made last night but not

everyone could get out easily and many had to be rescued. At Tadcaster

fire crews helped several families. We started putting the sandbags and

boards up last night but the water came so quick. Before we could even

get everything upstairs the water just came in. We were stuck

upstairs. But not everybody has been happy to leave home despite the

warnings. Some people want to stay in their houses, quite stoic about

the fact it is their house. Whilst the weather is good they will be OK,

but it is when the day progresses into the evening, it starts to get

dark. If the power goes that is when priorities change quite quickly. On

this road, east of the city centre, the water levels have been creeping

up all day. Helen has a ground floor flat and is worried she may have to

leave it. I've been here 20 years and never seen anything like it. I'm

quite concerned of the level it is getting to that it could potentially

get into the flat. And that we may need to look at moving out. Mountain

rescue teams are helping from across the North of England and extra

troops have been brought in as part of what is now a massive emergency

effort. In York this is the nerve centre where they are keeping track

of the floods and of the teams out working. Hugely dynamic situation.

The water levels continue to be on the rise, although some uncertainty

as to what that will mean. So we have deployed from Lancashire where

we were supporting what was going on there yesterday. About 200 troops,

more on the way now. A plea has been made fried extra 5000 sandbags. Some

flood barriers had to be lifted because the pumps were overwhelmed.

-- for and extra 5000 sandbags. We have decided to deploy more military

forces and personnel to help. -- military resources. At this time of

year, particularly, we all feel huge sympathy for those who have been

flooded and for those who have had to leave their homes. Leeds city

centre has been badly flooded after the River area reached record

levels. And away from the city is integral Yorkshire there is little

respite, either. We can talk to Judith in York. Please bring us

up-to-date with the situation. Although it has just started

raining, ironically there has been good weather here today. Despite the

sun in the sky you can see there is still a lot of water on the ground.

That is because of the length of time it takes for the brain which

has fallen over the last few days to come down off the Dales. -- rain.

The River loses 5.1 metres above its normal level in the summertime. --

the River Ouse. We have been told that it will probably peaked at

lunchtime, and hopefully just short of the defences which were put in

after the serious floods in 2000. This evening there are still a lot

of people worried about what is still going to happen here possibly.

Thanks very much. More than 6,000 homes

are still without power Two of the worst hit areas

are Ribchester and Whalley - where hundreds of homes have had

to be evacuated. Residents have spent the day

clearing up in the aftermath Our correspondent Emily Unia

reports from Whalley. Many hands making light work

in Whalley where the post-flooding It is now 24 hours since the rivers

peaked here and things could not But although there is no

longer water flowing -- But although there is no longer

water flowing through the streets Skips have been steadily arriving

and are filled within minutes. Everyone is helping,

making the clean-up a little easier. What he saw this morning

and what we have achieved now. It is hard to believe

that this was all yesterday. As the waters rose Boxing Day

festivities were abandoned At Kelly Hughes's hairdressers

regular customers turned up Friends, family, all of the girls

who I work with, everyone has landed a hand and we will be back open

tomorrow at nine o'clock. But not everyone will be back

to normal but quickly. -- But not everyone will be back

to normal that quickly. For Hugh Shackleton

the volume of water escaping from the River Calder

was a huge shock. It has flooded before

but never this badly. I've never seen anything

like it before. It is the first time it has come up

from the river. And there is more bad weather

on the way, which means scenes like this one could return

sooner than expected. There have been calls for ministers

to reflect carefully on whether Britain's flood defences are

accurate given the severity of the flooding experienced. The government

said it would look again at whether more needs to be done.

Our Science Editor David Shukman reports.

With rivers still rising and more rain on the way,

yet another last line of defence is made ready.

This is Ribchester in Lancashire, one of dozens of communities

struggling against the floods and all too often losing.

From across the country, these are scenes which have become

Sometimes defences do their job, but year

after year flood waters have proved too much.

Triggering a cycle of despair and accusation.

This time, ministers blame a deluge that has set new records.

We have seen very bad flooding right across Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The water levels still have not peaked here.

Everyone is saying that the level of rivers is more

The government is now promising to review the country's flood defences,

so what are the key factors involved? Top of the list is the

Budget for flood protection. Ministers are allocated ?2.3 billion

over a six-year period. Critics say it isn't enough. Then there are

choices about how land is used. Our farmers doing enough to hold back

rain water upstream? Our new houses being built in vulnerable areas? And

on top of all of this is a changing climate. Warm air can hold more

moisture, that could mean more intense rain.

The Bridge at Kaywood in North Yorkshire

Time after time reviews into flood defences warned

that key infrastructure must be better protected.

And that call is being made again now.

These events which we speak of as if they are one-offs,

we've never seen this before, these are the words used,

They are things which are happening regularly and the country needs

to think very carefully about how to address the problems

which are clearly going to be increasingly frequent in the future.

For the moment, the focus is on battling the rising waters now.

Yesterday in West Yorkshire man was rescued through the roof

It will never be possible to keep everyone says,

but the cost of this month's storms could top ?1.5 billion

and there are questions over whether the threats of flooding

is getting the attention it deserves.

The Environment Agency is warning people to remain vigilant as river

levels continue to rise, with the threat of more severe

Northern Rail is advising people not to travel in Cumbria,

East Lancashire and West Yorkshire - unless "absolutely necessary".

Our correspondent Dan Johnson is in the village of Cawood

This is that bridge you saw in the report. It is the lifting bridge

over the Ouse. It normally goes over the river, but it is flowing over

the bridge. It is something unprecedented. They are used

flooding but they've never seen levels like this. It has prompted a

furious effort from everybody in the village, along with the Army, laying

thousands of these, sandbags, to bolster the to protect the village

from this water. -- to bolster the protection to the village. Everybody

has been breathing a sigh of relief but they are waiting to see what

tomorrow brings. It is raining again and there are worries that the river

will peak again tomorrow and they will be under threat once more.

Thanks very much. You can keep up to date

with all the latest developments And that's on the BBC News

website at bbc.co.uk/news. In today's other news -

severe flooding is also effecting More than 150,000 people have been

forced to evacuate vast areas of Argentina, Uruguay,

Brazil and Paraguay - where a state of emergency

has been declared. It's thought that the worst flooding

in 50 years has been caused And in the United States,

at least eleven people have died in the latest tornadoes

that have hit Texas, knocking cars off roads,

flattening houses, toppling trees 29 people are now known to have died

in storms that have battered the southern United States over

the Christmas period. Meteorologists have warned that

dangerous weather The Iraqi army claims it has taken

control of a key government compound in the centre of Ramadi,

where Islamic State militants have The government has been trying

to re-capture the city - which fell to Islamic State

in May - for weeks. Cricket now and Stuart Broad enjoyed

a fine day for England as the first test match in South Africa

continued as a tight contest. South Africa - officially ranked

the world's best side - finished the second day

on 137 for 4 in Durban. On one of the world Windies cricket

grounds you have to be ready for anything. -- world's windiest. Could

have been worse. England's first innings could have gone better.

Morne Morkel bowled well. England made 303 then their turn to bowl.

Broad began. Facing the second ball in the breeze, van Zyl almost stood

still. Dealing with flying objects is the wicketkeeper's job, Jonny

Bairstow had dropped Hashim Amla on to, but grabbed him on seven.

Relief. Broad again. The captain gone. England desperately wanted a B

de Villiers, conceivably the world's best cricketer. He played 11, the

ball flew to Ben Stokes, and he court it. But hold on. The umpire

wanted a replay and decided that the ball touched the ground before

fingers. Not out officially. De Villiers can do this. With Dean

Elgar composed at the other end England needed more. They needed

Stuart Broad. South Africa were four down at the close. In Durban,

England are delivering. A Britain has become the first

person to roam nonstop solo across the Pacific Ocean.

-- A Briton has become the first person to row non-stop and solo

It took John Beeden six months to row from San Francisco in America